In case you missed out, Orbit Books just did a cover reveal for The Wolf of Oren-yaro. A year of waiting has finally paved way to the excitement of having a book about to be released in stores (!). I spoke about the story behind the book’s acquisition over at Shut Up, Shealea.
It’s been a weird year. I’ve been very busy behind the scenes, with a bulk of the work going into editing and writing, as always. I’m currently working on revisions for Book 2, The Ikessar Falcon, which will be released about six months after The Wolf of Oren-yaro. The behemoth that is Book 3 is already completed; it’s just waiting for its turn in the editing room. My number one priority is making sure this series packs a punch from beginning to end. I see it as one book, with every chapter, every scene, soaring towards that magnificent, glorious end.
The artist in me is interested in how readers will react. I love circular storytelling, and Chronicles of the Bitch Queen is a reflection of my love for these kind of “Don’t blink, not even once!” narratives (which is rather more common in the horror genre than the fantasy genre). The last book is meant to make you rethink the first book, with the hope that you’ll read it all again to see the layers hiding underneath the narrative. Wishful thinking, of course. Only two readers so far have read the series from beginning to end, and their response is promising. (Though one did spend days crying/screaming at me for ending it that way).
The rest of me is just banking on the fact that having it all out within a year will make up for my scatterbrained marketing approach.
People sometimes ask if I’m going to relax more now that I’m a hybrid author. I have a publishing team now! There’s people working on my book! (I saw the map last week and it’s amazing). I’m sometimes not sure how to reply considering the last year has been my busiest so far. I’m quite aware that the success of my book still lies on my shoulders. If there’s anything I’ve learned in my self-publishing attempts, it’s that marketing can only work so much if I don’t also hustle or put myself out there. I’m pretty open about the fact that I’m nervous about this whole thing. That I worry, endlessly, if I’m doing enough to get word out there. That I’m aware that there are many books coming out every day, that I’m just a blip on the horizon, so that I have to make everything I do count.
So I haven’t relaxed. At all. I’ve finished another book in all this time, a different series. This is yet another project that I’ve been working on for well over a decade, and the excitement with one series is feeding off the other. I can’t wait to put everything I’ve learned to good use and do something bigger. It’s that sort of feverish frenzy that I’m going to yet again compare to hiking; that desire to go higher, to touch the clouds, even after you’ve told yourself just getting to the top is enough, even when it hurts.
We did that again last weekend. I knew the trail was going to be difficult–I don’t hike without reading at least a few trail reports. I told my husband, as the trail began to get steeper and my body was starting to seriously question my life decisions, that I do these hikes to remind myself that nothing of value comes easy. That for me, for the cards I’ve drawn in life, means everything will always be a struggle. I have exercise-induced asthma and never really exercised as a child, so every physical thing I do hurts a lot. If I don’t pace myself or forget to breathe properly, I’m looking at chest palpitations and serious dizziness/nausea in the beginning of a trail. For years I had to hike with knee and ankle supports, and even now, one wrong step can fuck me over for weeks. So I don’t actually enjoy the grind. (I often say that the best part about hiking is when it’s over and I get to laze around and eat).
But one thing I learned when I started doing a lot of these is that the experience is a lot like writing. That is, if I do nothing, if I just sit and whine, nothing will happen. No one will come to save me in the middle of a remote trail in the BC wilderness; I have to pick myself up and make every step on my own, fucked up knees and ankles be damned. In the past, I’ve scrambled up rocks carrying all 50+ lbs of toddler and gear, and the only way to make it end is to keep pushing. I often make a lot of bargains with myself along the way. Just reach the sub-alpine then you can turn around. Just until that lake. Just… And so far, except that one time we had to turn back because of lightning, we’ve made it to the end of every trail.
We made it to the end of this one. The views were beautiful, but more importantly, we made it. Downhill was its own set of adventures, but we got through that, too.
So now the long weekend is over and I’m back to the daily grind of revisions and more revisions and trying to sneak in the new project so that I have a polished version ready by the beginning of next year all while finding ways to promote myself and my books in the coming months. I’ll get through all of this somehow. You don’t make it through life as long as I have without learning to take blows.
I hope the traditional publication of your trilogy is a tremendous success, Kay (which should be a given with Orbit Books behind you). It’s inspiring to see that all your hard work is finally going to be rewarded.